"500 years ago, Shang Tsung was banished to the Earth Realm. With the aid of Goro he was able to unbalance the furites and doom the planet to a chaotic existence. By seizing control of the Shaolin tournament, he tried to tip the scales of order towards chaos. Only seven warriors survived the battles and Shang Tsung's scheme would come to a violent end at the hands of Liu Kang. Facing execution for his failure and the apperent death of Goro, Tsung convinces Shao Kahn to grant him a second chance."

This is the plot for Mortal Kombat 2, tying the first game and this one together. This FAQ contains a comprehensive move list, character bios, cheat codes, a pros and cons list for using each character, and some frequently asked questions for Mortal Kombat 2 for the SNES.

This game features a few extra cheat codes than it's predecessor, though less options are available through them. The cheats are performed on the character select screen unless othewise notified here. Afterwards, we'll discuss the secret fights.

Secret intro: Upon turning on the game, hold the L and R buttons to see an extra little scene on the Acclaim screen.

Extended Fatality time: Press Up, Up, Left, Up, Down and Select to get more time to perform a fatality.

Extra continues: Press Left, Up, Right, Down, Left and Select for a ton of extra continues.

Skip to Shao Kahn: Press Right, Up, Up, Right, Left and Select so go straight to the Shao Kahn fight.

Skip to Kintaro: Press Up, Down, Down, Right, Right and Select to go right to Kintaro.

Skip to Jade: Press Up, Down, Down, Left, Right and Select to skip to Jade.

Skip to Noob Saibot: Press Left, Up, Down, Down, Right and Select to skip to the fight with Noob Saibot.

Skip to Smoke: Press Up, Left, Up, Up, Right and Select to skip to the fight with Smoke.

More powerful hits: Down, Up, Right, Up, Left, and Select. This will make you do tons more damage than normally.

The secret Kombatants: Smoke, Jade, and Noob Saibot

Jade is just a really fast, Green Kitana, and Smoke is a really fast, Gray Scorpion. Noob Saibot is also just like Scorpion, but blends into parts of the background in Goro's Lair. To fight these three, you have to meet special requirements as you play.

To fight Jade: In the fight before the question mark, you must use low kick only throughout the entire match, though moving around is allowed.

To fight Smoke: On the Portal Stage, keep performing uppercuts until Dan Forden cuts in with his "TOASTY!" scream, and hold down and press start while he does.

Liu Kang: After winning the Shaolin tournament from Shang Tsung, Kang returns to his temples. He discovers his sacred home in ruins. His Shaolin brothers killed in a vicious battle with a horde of Outworld warriors. Now he travels to the dark realm to seek revenge.

Johnny Cage: After Shang Tsung's tournament, the martial arts superstar disappears. He follows Liu Kang into Outworld. There he will compete in a twisted tournament which holds the balance of Earth's existence-as well as a script for another blockbuster movie.

Kung Lao: A former Shaolin monk and member of the White Lotus Society, he is the last descendant of the great Kung Lao who was defeated by Goro 500 years ago. Realizing the danger of the Outworld menace, he joins Liu Kang in entering Shao Kahn's contest.

Shang Tsung: After losing control of the Shaolin tournament, Tsung promises his ruler Shao Kahn to shape events that will lure the Earth warriors to compete in his own contest. Convinced of this plan, Shao Kahn restores Tsung's youth and allows him to live.

Baraka: He led the attack against Liu Kang's Shaolin temple. Baraka belongs to a nomadic race of mutants living in the wastelands of Outworld. His fighting skills gained the attention of Shao Kahn, who recruited him into his army.

Kitana: Her beauty hides her true role as a personal assassin for Shao Kahn. Seen talking to an Earth Realm warrior, her motives have come under suspicion by her twin sister Mileena, but only Kitana knows her own true intentions.

Mileena: Serving as an assassin along with her twin sister Kitana, Mileena's dazzling appearance conceals her hideous intentions. At Shao Kahn's request, she is asked to watch for her twin sister's dissension. She must put a stop to it at any cost.

Rayden: Watching events unfold from high above, the thunder god realizes the grim intentions of Shao Kahn. After warning the remaining members of the Shaolin tournament, Rayden soon disappears. He is believed to have ventured into Outworld alone.

Jax: His real name is Maj. Jackson Briggs, leader of a top U.S. special forces unit. After receiving a distress signal from Lt. Sonya Blade, Jax embarks on a rescue mission. One that leads him into a ghastly world where he believes that Sonya is still alive.

Sub-Zero: Thought to have been killed in the Shaolin tournament, Sub-Zero mysteriously returns. It is believed that he travelled into the Outworld again to attempt to assassinate Shang Tsung. To do so he must fight his way through Shao Kahn's tournament.

Scorpion: The Hell-spawned specter rises from the pits, after learning of Sub-Zero's return, he again stalks the ninja assassin-following him into the dark realm of Outworld where he continues his own unholy mission.

Reptile: As Shang Tsung's personal protector, the elusive Reptile lurks in the shadows stopping all those who would do his master harm. His human form is believed to disguise a horrid reptilian creature whose race was thought extinct millions of years ago.

Fatality 1 - While away, press Forward, Forward, Down, High Kick. Once the enemy is in a deep freeze, get close and press Forward, Down, Forward, Forward, High Punch (first part can be repeated to extend fatality time)

Fatality 2 - Go as far back as you can to the edge of the screen, and then hold Low Punch, and press Back, Back, Down, Forward.

-His ice puddle is great for tripping up anyone, especially the AI. It can take you a long way through the roster, especially if you're close enough to the point where the puddle will spawn right under them.

-Shooting his iceball causes him do duck, low enough to hit Scorpion and Smoke if they shoot their hand-spears, as well as Liu Kang if he does a super kick.

-His iceball can thankully freeze Kintaro and Shao Kahn, which will give you a ton of breathing room.

-Teleporting is a bit easier than Rayden, and sends him flying up into the air, making it easy to kick on the way up and back down.

-Kung's hat can be thrown and it has quite the rate of speed, being one of the fastest projectile weapons in the game.

-Kung Lao's spin will draw in enemies close to him and do some damage, which can be much better than a block if timed correctly.

-Using the diagnal kick can be great for mind games against your opponent as you fly back first, and then come down at a 45 degree angle with a kick.

Cons:

-Timing and proximity are really important for the spin attack, otherwise you run the risk of getting hit by a projectile.

-While the teleport can be useful, it's best not spam it, lest your opponent duck and uppercut you right out of the sky.

-His repetoire against the two final enemies of the game is really limited in terms of using attacks to gain the upper hand. You'll have to not rely so much on special attacks and a little moreso on luck to defeat them.

-Kung Lao's hat throw has an extremely long cool down time, leaving him open if your opponent happens to jump over it or duck under it.

-Her fan lift will grant you total control of your opponent for a few seconds, use this to set them up for an uppercut.

-Like some other characters, her sister included, she can fire her projectiles in the air to help her aerial game.

-Kitana's flying punch will knock down whichever opponent decides to jump to high into the air for a jump kick, this a great attack to catch your enemies off-guard with.

-Kitana has a game-breaking combo in this game. Corner your opponent, use the fan lift attack, jump into the air with a regular kick, fall back down and *immeadiately* follow up for a forward jump kick, then a mid-air fan throw. Your enemy will be wondering what happened as they never got to touch the ground :). Yes, this works even on Kintaro and Shao Kahn.

Cons:

-If executed at a bad time, her flying punch will leave her open to an attack from behind, as well as many projectile attacks, so be sure to use it wisely.

-While the fan lift is quite useful, it leavers her totally open for almost anything, though is will stop Rayden's Flying Thunder God, Liu Kang's Bicycle Kick, and Johnny's Shaodw Kick.

-Throwing the fan in mid-air can leave her open for an uppercut if the fan doesn't connect and your opponent hits the ground too early.

-Can turn into any one of the playable characters. Depending on who he turns into, refer to the other pros and cons in this list.

-Shang Tsung does have is own playstyle though, and it can take some mind games to use it to destroy your opponent depending on the difficulty level or skill of your friend.

-His flaming attack is extremely spammable and can deal great damage if you keep it up, so long as the enemy keeps falling for it without blocking it. Still, the triple flaming heads are difficult to work around.

-Depending on the character he's turned into at the end of the match, he can do their fatality.

Cons:

-While his flaming skulls attack can do some major damage, it *can* be worked around (difficult as it may be), and this method becomes lost.

-For other cons, refer to the other characters as the flaming skulls are his only unique attack.

-The super kick is a fast, powerful attack that will send your enemy flying if it connects, flies over Sub-Zero's special attacks.

-The bicycle kick will carry him over Jax' ground punch attack, which will grant you a guaranteed connection.

-His low and high fireballs can be used for some great mind games against your opponent.

-Pressing either combination for the fireball attacks in mid-air will, like Mileena and Kitana, will launch a fireball in the air, which is great to throw off your enemies.

Cons:

-Can be caught in Scoprion's hand-spear while performing the bicycle kick, setting you up for a free hit, so be careful when using it. Attacks that can also hit him mid-bicycle include Mileena's sais, Kitana's fans, Baraka's blade sparks, and Kung Lao's hat throw.

-While his fireball attacks are fast, his cool down time for them feel pretty drawn out, more-so than they really are because it's a very easy attack to see coming.

-His flying super kick can be countered by a well-placed jump kick or an uppercut. Kung Lao, Rayden, and Scorpion can also teleport right out of the way.

-His Flying Thunder God attack will go right under the high-attacking projectiles, such as Scorpion's hand-spear and Baraka's blade sparks.

-The teleporting ability works a bit faster than Kung Lao's and if done when your opponent shoots a projectile, you can perform any attack of your choice.

-His shocking attack works great for catching an opponent off-guard because a lot of people don't expect to see it coming. When close, the AI and most people tend to think you're going to perform the Flying Thunder God, so use this to your advantage.

-After shooting lighting, there's a recovery delay for the opponent, which will allow you to follow right up with Flying Thunder God with no recourse for you if performed fast enough.

Cons:

-While performing the Flying Thunder God, he becomes really vulerable to quite a few attacks, such as Sub-Zero's ice ball, Reptile's force balls, and Kitana's fan.

-If teleporting is expected by the opponent, you'll often find yourself tripped up by a sweep kick, so use this ability wisely.

-Useful as the shocking attack is, you have to be really close to your opponent which can set you up for a free hit if you're not careful, especially if it's a fast acting stun attack.

Thanks to Midway and the entire team of character actors for making this fantastic game! Much thanks also to SBAllen for hosting this FAQ on www.gamefaqs.com. This FAQ was written by Richard Hull, (c) 2010. I hope that you've found this guide useful to help you gain that upper hand in one of the hardest Mortal Kombats to date!